VANESSA

I couldn’t believe it. Avren wanted me to marry him.

My heart spilled over. Avren loved me. He had never talked marriage before.

I had always assumed he cared about me but didn’t really love me. People from Auxem could only marry and bond with someone they loved.

I had been wrong. All this time, I had been wrong.

“You’re afraid, but you want to ask me?”

He nodded slowly. “With all my heart. Do you think I should?” I could see the fear of rejection in his eyes.

I wanted him to love me and marry me more than life itself.

“Yes, please.”

Avren’s face looked startled for a moment. I knew he had been hoping for affirmation but hadn’t let himself get carried away. He took the band from me and held it up. “Vanessa Dwyer, will you marry me and be my bond mate?”

Bond mates lasted for life. He would never leave me. It wasn’t in his nature. A small platinum band had eradicated my biggest fear.

“I will, Avren. Of course, I will.” Tears spilled down my cheeks again. Avren took me into his arms and hugged me tightly. He sat back and began to slide the band onto my arm, but hesitated before it touched me.

“Once the band is on your upper arm, it will fuse to your skin. You won’t be able to remove it without surgery.”

“Are you trying to tell me it’s permanent?” The circlet would mark me as Avren’s forever. “Just like our marriage?”

“It lasts forever.”

“Good.” I held out my arm for him. “Mark me as yours, Madellan.”

We might not have forever, but we would have three days of perfection, at least.

* * *

I tapped my fingers nervously against the silk wedding dress as I waited for Avren to arrive.

I refused to let him take his wings out for the first time at the ceremony and possibly drop dead. If he were going to keel over, it would be in private with me by his side — right before the most important event of my life. He said we should get married first. But I wasn’t willing to grieve in front of everyone.

And if he died, it wouldn’t matter when we married. He would be dead either way.

The door opened, and he came in, without a shirt and slightly mussed hair. His gray eyes cut straight into me. Avren walked up and kissed me. Once he let me catch my breath, I put my hand to my chest, overwhelmed with emotion.

“I love you, Vanessa.” He took my hand.

“I love you, too.” I wanted to memorize everything about this moment. I wondered if it was the last time we would kiss. Everything he said might be the last words he would ever speak. He stepped back and gazed at me solemnly before giving me a nervous smile.

“Safe flight.” He deployed his wings without a moment’s hesitation.

I cringed and closed my eyes, afraid of what I might see. I listened for a moment and heard a gentle rustling. I opened my eyes. I had heard the sound of Avren’s wings. He was moving them gently and testing them. He had a look of wonder on his face.

“How does it feel?” My legs wouldn’t work.

“There wasn’t any pain.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable. How long do we have to wait?”

Avren was asking me something he already knew. He seemed transfixed by his wings as if seeing them for the first time.

“Taking them out was the trigger. If you’re still standing, you’re going to live, Madellan.”

One corner of his mouth snuck up, and he gave me a warm, loving gaze. “We did it, Vanessa!” He picked me up and spun me around the way he had when I had agreed to help him with the research in the beginning.

I loved it. And I loved Avren.

“Allex is going to be free. Everyone else, too.” Avren’s smile was so wide that I thought it might split his face. “You don’t know what this means to us, Vanessa.” He gathered me up in his arms, wrapping his wings around us, and kissed me until I had to push him back. I wasn’t going to bond with him ten minutes before our wedding ceremony in the dressing room.

“Is it different?” I needed to talk about something, so I could forget how much I wanted to jump his bones.

“I feel like I’m a teenager and my wings just emerged. It’s like I’ve never seen them before. The pain was clouding my mind before. I can fly, Vanessa!” He jumped in the air and flew up to the high, vaulted ceiling, touching it with his hand before coming gently back down to the ground.

“You’re unbelievable.” I went over to him and gave him a tight squeeze.

“So are you, my sweet scientist. Let’s get married.” He bent over and whispered in my ear. “Because I can’t wait to fuck you until you scream.”

I shivered. Neither could I.

“Let’s do it, then. Let’s get married, Madellan.”

I held out my hand, and he took it, leading me to our new life together.

* * *

AVREN

The wedding ceremony had been more emotional than I’d expected. I understood my brothers’ reactions at their weddings; it was terrifying to swear to love and protect one woman for the rest of your life. I sensed there was more at stake for my wedding — everyone was waiting to see the test results.

Vanessa looked gorgeous in her white Earth wedding dress. We were allowed a single chaste kiss during the ceremony, but it wasn’t enough for me. I had waited as patiently as I could for the reception and party to finish and the bonding to start.

I knew Vanessa was nervous. Had the other women had told her exactly what happens to males when we take out our wings? The Auxem followed a particular sequence of events for the bonding ritual — I had to have my wings active the first two times I fucked her.

She had never seen that my cock grew bigger when my wings were out, and we had to fuck at least two times with them deployed. It had to do with the increased blood circulation needed in our bodies. My brothers had warned me Vanessa would be taken aback the first time she saw me, and they recommended I warn her, but I had a feeling the other women had already discussed things. As we walked back to the bridal chamber in the summer palace, I worried about what we were going to do.

“Hey, Madellan.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I peeked at her. “Okay, okay. I’m a little nervous. I want everything to be perfect today, and I’m afraid I’ll screw something up.”

“I hope you’ll screw something.” She glanced at me and gave me a happy grin. “You don’t have to worry, Avren. We’ll sort everything out. We’ve been intimate before.”

“I know, but this is something different.”

“Stop worrying so much.” We entered the bridal suite together. Her jaw dropped open when she saw the stone altar in the middle of the room. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s where I’m going to sacrifice you to my carnal desires. Getting worried yet?”

She smiled, and I felt some of the tension leave my body. Her eyes heated and the anxiety melted away.

“Do you promise?” Vanessa dropped her eyes to my crotch, watching my cock start to grow at the thought of finally fucking her.

“No more promises.” I stepped closer to her. “It’s time for action, not words.”

She cupped my bulge. “How much do you love me, by the way?”

“Several inches at least.” She tried to free me from my pants. “Vanessa, we have to follow certain rules.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Vanessa took her hand away immediately.

“You’re not in charge tonight.”

Vanessa looked surprised by the thought. Her expression turned to intrigue and excitement.

We kissed for a long time, exploring each other’s mouths. I wasn’t going to rush anything. We had all night with each other, and I had waited a long time to take her.

Soon my hands were on her breasts and in her panties. She came like this, and then came again with my head under her dress and my mouth on her pussy. I wanted to make sure she was well satisfied before we got to the main event. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold it.

“Avren, that’s enough. I’m empty. I need you to get inside me.”

All my brothers told me they had deployed their wings in private on their wedding night so their wives wouldn’t be terrified. But there was no need to hide anything tonight. I stood up and unfurled my wings, standing tall and proud. She stared at me in amazement.

She whispered now. “No pain. You’re both incredible and foolish. I love you so much.” She wrapped her arms around me and laid her head on my chest. “I can’t believe you risked your life to be the first test subject.”

“It wasn’t just for you and my family. It was for our children, too.”

Her eyes got big and round at the idea we might start our family tonight.

“Let’s do this, Madellan.” She pulled down my pants impatiently.

When I sprang free, she froze in shock.

“I forgot to tell you something.” I guess the ladies hadn't told her, after all.

“You certainly did.” She turned her head to gaze at me.

“Auxem men are a little bigger when our wings are out.”

“A little bigger?” She looked like she might faint. “I’m afraid it’s not going to fit.”

“I’m told every woman says that. Priya’s the same size as you, and she and Allex didn’t have any trouble. Your body will accommodate me, I promise.”

“Avren, I don’t know if I can.”

“Are we getting divorced already?”

“Of course not. But can’t you put your wings away so we can fuck like humans?”

“I’m not human, Vanessa, and it’s part of the bond. For now, let’s just snuggle. There’s no pressure. When you’re ready, we’ll do it.”

“Okay.” She let me lead her over to the bed. I undressed her slowly before taking off my pants. I curled my body around hers and used my wings to create a soft white cocoon around us.

“I love you, Vanessa.”

She sighed happily. “I love you, too.”

I held off as long as I could, but I had to touch her. I needed to hold her soft, heavy breasts in my hands and feel her nipples harden. I needed to slide my fingers between her slick folds and rub her clit until she couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

I needed to push inside her and fill her — but not yet.

I brought her to the edge a couple of times and pulled back. I made sure to retreat before she could come. I wanted her to beg for it.

“Avren, I don’t care how big you are. I need you to fuck me.” Her green eyes bore into me, and I picked her up, carrying her to the middle of the room.

I sat Vanessa’s sweet bare ass on the stone altar. She spread her legs and tilted her pelvis. I pushed her gently onto her back and touched her clit again, making her moan.

“I’m ready. Give it to me, already.”

I kept brushing her clit as I lined myself up with her entrance and pushed inside, but only the tip. The resisting flesh slowly split, and I sank into her hot wetness. I thought I would lose my mind from the pleasure of being inside her.

“That’s it. Just like that, Madellan. More. I need more!”

I eased myself inside one inch at a time. When Vanessa gasped, I stopped and touched her until I felt her body relax to accommodate me. I sheathed myself, slowly sliding into her warmth until I was embedded inside her as far as I could go.

“Avren, don’t move yet. I need to get used to this.”

* * *

VANESSA

Avren was deep inside me and filling me very tightly. I had managed to get all of him inside me, although I could tell he was holding himself back with all of his Auxem self-control.

As my body stretched around him, my desire ratcheted up again. All I wanted now was for Avren to fuck me hard, fast, and deep. I wanted to come in an explosion that would make me forget my name.

“What are you waiting for, Madellan?”

That was all the encouragement Avren needed. He pulled out and plunged in again. He found a rhythm quickly, and I felt my orgasm building. I couldn’t help it — it felt like he was stimulating every nerve ending in my body.

I arched up to meet every possessive thrust. With each pumping of Avren’s hips, I could feel him marking me. His motions grew fast and frantic, and I felt my climax coming at me. I writhed on the warm stone as he pounded harder and faster into me.

“We have to come together, Vanessa. Tell me when.” He dropped his hand, lightly rubbing my clit as he continued slamming into me. His other hand reached up and played with my breasts. It was all I needed to set me off.

I screamed with an orgasm that tore through me like a blazing fire. I didn’t need to tell Avren I was coming — there was no way he couldn’t know.

Avren groaned and pressed his hips into me. I could feel him pump his seed deep inside me. It set off more contractions that milked every drop out of him.

I felt something else, too — it was like I had merged with Avren somehow. We weren’t two people anymore. My heart filled with love until it burst and spilled over into my entire body, bliss seeping into every cell. I clung to Avren and sensed a connection between us stronger than anything I had ever had with another person. It was like a metaphysical rope had tied us together. Forever.

I didn’t feel alone anymore, and I didn’t have a single worry about whether Avren loved me or not. The only way we could have bonded so intensely was if we both completely loved each other.

When our feelings cooled off, I lay back, completely exhausted. We didn’t move for a while. He didn’t pull out, and I was so lazy in my post-orgasmic haze that I didn’t want him ever to leave.

I felt a twitch inside me. Avren was getting hard again. My sex clenched around him at the thought.

“Really?” I opened an eye to look at him.

“Could you?”

I nodded, and he flipped me over, making me stand with my feet on the floor and my upper body resting on the altar.

He spread my ass to get a better view of my pussy. I felt exposed, but not for long as his hot body covered me. I felt the tip of his cock nudge inside me, and I closed my eyes. I wanted to shut out everything except this incredible sensation.

Avren slid in a little further before thrusting deeply into me without warning. One hand came around and touched my clit — the other grasped my breast roughly and pinched my nipple.

I pressed my ass back against him, and he moved deep within me. I moaned long and loud. He rocked into me, hitting the right spot and bringing my climax so close that I whimpered, my sex throbbing.

I needed to come.

“Vanessa.” He said my name, and it pushed me over the edge. “Come for me.” I felt him explode inside me a second time, and I was hit by an eruption of pleasure that washed over me in waves. I thought the blissful convulsions would never end.

We showered together before falling into bed. I was happier than I had ever been in my life — drunk on sex and love.

* * *

AVREN

I woke in the middle of the night to find Vanessa riding me wildly in the darkness. I had barely felt her pumping me until I was hard and she started climbing on top. Once her hot wetness had gripped me, I woke up.

A dead man would have awakened at that.

I grabbed her hips and surged into her. My wings weren’t deployed, and I was a regular size, so she easily took all of me. She still felt tight, and I loved being inside her.

As she rode me, I couldn’t stay still, and my strokes increased in time with her moans. Her breasts swung and brushed against me. My orgasm was a long, slow build. Eventually, I let go as my passion crested, and I spent myself within her. Vanessa’s body clenched around me; her cries of ecstasy reverberated in the soundproof room.

She collapsed on top of me, and I loved it.

I loved her.